Rescue
by altura9
Summary: AU of the UR-1 incident. Metis really is experimenting on Athena, and Simon is the only one who can stop her.
1. Chapter 1

Note: Someone on the kink meme requested an AU of the UR-1 incident in which Simon's Mood Matrix segment was true (or at least partially true). I had to change at least one character's personality drastically for this AU - though we're not given that much information about her in the first place - so I hope I pulled it off!

* * *

Numbers flash across the screen, and the girl cries.

The strange symbols mean nothing to her, really. Like always, she just wants this to be over with. The strange cacophony of noises pounding into her eardrums always makes her feel sick after a few minutes, and trying to take the headphones off only gets her a quick slap on the hand from her mother.

"Please, Athena. This is for your own good." Metis Cykes turns a knob on the strange machine to her left, and new sounds flood Athena's headphones.

Athena's head droops and her hands leap up to clutch at the headphones again. She desperately tries to dull the ache by pulling at the ear pads, but to no avail. Tears course down her face, and Metis continues to make notes in the small journal open in front of her.

Athena sits like this for quite some time until the sound volume decreases. She is instantly relieved, and she looks up with shining eyes at her mother. Is today's experiment over? She wants to go play with Ponco, or draw a picture for Simon.

But her mother's expression is cold, and she knows she is just kidding herself. It is never that easy or simple on these "research" days.

"Now. Listen to my voice and tell me how I'm feeling." Metis's hand is poised to write in her journal as she scrutinizes Athena.

Athena faces her mother, ears straining to take in as much emotional content as possible. She knows that if she is wrong - or even slightly off - she will be subjected to more weird noises and intense headaches. She does not want that.

"Y-you're frustrated that your research isn't going how you want it to..." she says timidly, glancing to the side.

She knows it is the wrong answer as soon as she finishes speaking.

Metis purses her lips. "No, Athena. I'm disappointed." She swings around in her chair to start up the machine again, and Athena's cries begin anew.

* * *

Simon Blackquill has been preparing for this day for months. As he walks into the Cosmos Space Center, he runs over in his mind step-by-step what he will do when he reaches the psychology lab. He has been very careful over the past few weeks not to let on to Dr. Cykes what his true intentions are. He is always pleasantly polite at their lessons, with a "Yes, Dr. Cykes, no, Dr. Cykes" for every one of her questions.

He no longer has any respect for Dr. Cykes and her work. Ever since he discovered that much of her research results had been derived from cruel experiments conducted on her daughter, he had begun to devise a plan to stop her. He had stood by too often while Athena suffered, wishing he could do more.

_Enough is enough_, he thinks.

His mentor's own trust in him will be her undoing. His skill with a sword is unparalleled, thanks - ironically - to Dr. Cykes agreeing to teach him Japanese swordsmanship. Simon is now faster with the blade than she ever was, and he of course has youth and strength on his side. Dr. Cykes is not old by any means, but she is smaller and frailer than he is, and he knows it will not take much to overpower her.

Simon walks through the corridors of the space center purposefully, making sure not to be spotted by the security cameras. Today is the day he rescues Athena. He will no longer be a passive witness to her pain. And he is prepared to kill.

If it comes to that.


	2. Chapter 2

Dr. Cykes has collected enough data for today. She powers down the machine connected to Athena's headphones and tucks her journal into a pocket of her lab coat. Getting up from her chair, she directs her next words to her daughter.

"I need to head upstairs for something, Athena. I'll be right back, so be good." Metis says this in a slightly sinister manner, but her daughter is too worn out to pick up on it.

"O-okay," says Athena obediently, and she slumps down on the floor, relieved that she has been freed for the time being.

"Ponco is going to watch out for you," her mother adds, indicating the red robot standing near the entrance to the robotics laboratory. "So no tinkering with her while I'm gone."

Athena wonders what she means by "watch out for you," but she does not bother to ask. She bobs her head in solemn acknowledgement of her mother's words.

The lab doors slide open and shut, signaling Metis's departure. Now that she is gone, Athena beings to sob. She has cried while undergoing experiments, certainly, but she is careful not to cry loudly around her mother. The stress of the day has overwhelmed her, and she has no other way to channel her grief. Normally she would paint in her room, but she had just been told to stay put, and she knows what will happen if she disobeys.

Ponco looks on as she cries, unsure of what to do. The robot is equipped with emotion-detecting software, but it cannot comfort her like a warm, breathing human being can.

"Athena, Mommy Metis will be back soon," says Ponco in her chirpy robotic voice. "Please don't be sad." The robot wheels over to her and pats her back with a clunky arm.

Athena wants to smile at Ponco's gesture of comfort, but she cannot. It is precisely the fact that her mother is returning that makes her so sad, and she gulps and rubs at her eyes with her sleeve. Still, she wishes she could be happier for Ponco's sake. The robot has always treated her with kindness and love, despite being programmed by such a cold woman.

The girl is hit with the strange notion that a robot seems to love her more than her own mother does. More sobs wrack her body, and her cries drift into the hallway of the space center.

* * *

After reaching the fourth floor, Simon exits the elevator as quickly as possible. He can see the lone security camera at the hallway juncture that - besides Dr. Cykes herself - will be his main obstacle in rescuing Athena. By flattening his back against the wall and rushing by the camera as it turns to the left, he can enter the psychology lab without being seen. He does this swiftly, and is about to pass through the lab's sliding doors when he hears crying coming from the room next to it.

It is the robotics laboratory, Metis and Aura's main workplace. Aura is not at work today, he knows, and the cries are not those of a man or a grown woman. His heart leaps into his throat as he realizes who must be suffering in there. As realization strikes, his temper flares and he changes course.

_Athena is being tortured again._

The doors to the robotics lab slide open, and Simon comes face to face with Athena sobbing on the ground near the assembly chair. He is relieved to find her safe, but he is also alarmed by her apparent distress. The little girl looks crumpled and broken, and if he had not been prepared for it, the scene would be too much to bear. His first instinct is to rush over and comfort her, and he trots forward to do just that.

At the sound of footsteps, Athena removes her hands from her face, looking up with watery eyes. "S-Simon?" she asks, but before she can stand up to greet him properly, a red blur shoots across her line of vision and slams into the man walking toward her.

Simon cries out in surprise and pain. Ponco has attacked him, and is currently gripping both of his arms with her own robotic ones. Her normally kind eyes are glowing red, and she begins to emit a sharp beeping noise that is certainly a signal of some kind. He begins to struggle fiercely in the robot's grip, trying to break free.

Athena looks on, utterly stunned by what she is seeing. She has never seen Ponco act so violently before. She backs up slowly on shaking legs, afraid for Simon but afraid to get too close. What can she do?

Simon manages to get one arm free from Ponco's grasp, and with a mighty effort he shoves the robot aside. This frees him completely from her grip, and he staggers out of her reach. Now that Ponco has lost the element of surprise, it will be much harder for her to attack and restrain him once again.

He winces as he straightens up; the robot must have bruised a rib or two. But something still must be done about her, as she seems intent on protecting Athena and blocking his exit from the room.

_Well_, he thinks, _it looks like Dr. Cykes anticipated my rescue attempt somehow. I will have to fight after all._

"Athena," he says quickly, moving catlike across the room. "Stay against the wall while I deal with Ponco. And don't worry, I'm getting you out of here today."

Athena does as he says, backing up until she is pressed against the wall of the laboratory. She is terrified for Simon and terrified of what will happen when her mother returns. But her heart leaps at the idea of being rescued, of being taken away from this cold place forever.

Simon has his eyes on the katana hanging on the wall to his left, and in a few short strides he is close enough to grab it. He pulls it down from the wall and holds it out, judging the distance between himself and Ponco. This is why he did not bring a weapon to the space center - he knew he could easily use the katana if it came to violence. Unfortunately, it has.

The robot seems to shake in anticipation, as if it is cognizant of what he plans to do. He feels terrible about it, but he really has no other choice. He advances on Ponco, sword raised. The robot only has time for a short screech as he brings the katana down at each of her joints, slashing expertly at the weak spots. In less than thirty seconds, Ponco is a sparking heap at his feet, and he is stabbing through the robot's head for good measure.

Aura had said that the Ponco series was quite easy to take apart, even without the assembly machine to help. Simon's quick work proves her right.

When he is done, he steps away. He is scared to look at Athena; he wishes she did not have to watch this. He turns slowly to see her walking toward him, eyes shining. Even though the scene is horrifying, Athena cannot help but be reminded of the times she and Simon would play princess and knight, with her as the princess of the castle and he as the knight always ready to do her bidding. Sword in hand, he really does look like a knight to her now.

She is coming to understand that her mother has worked some evil magic on Ponco, and that Simon is only doing what he can to help. They are on the same side, she knows. Simon will protect her.

As soon as she reaches him, she hugs him tightly around the waist, and he drapes his free arm around her comfortingly. This is the kind of human warmth she has been missing so much lately, and she quails at the thought of this being taken away from her when her mother finds out what Simon did to Ponco. The immediacy of the situation suddenly hits her, and she is deathly frightened.

"Oh, Simon, please, please, please get me out of here!" she cries in a frenzy. "It's awful, it's so awful, and I'm so scared..."

"Shhh," says Simon, patting her on the head. "I know, Athena. We're very close. We just need to sneak out before your mom gets back. We'll be alright."

But before they can move, the doors to the lab slide open once again. Simon curses softly to himself, and he raises the katana to greet the visitor. As if he does not know who it will be.

"So you're here, Simon," says the figure at the entrance, the tone cold and unforgiving.

_I must be unyielding as steel_. Simon moves into a protective stance in front of Athena as Metis walks slowly into the robotics lab, a sparking electronic device in her hand.


	3. Chapter 3

Simon is struck by Dr. Cykes's expression as she enters the robotics laboratory. The look on her face is even more alarming than the strange device in her hand. She looks frightening, but all the same, he wants to lower his blade. She is his mentor. She had given him reason to respect her once.

_But remember what she's doing to Athena_. This thought steels him against her, and he tightens his grip on the katana handle.

"How?" It is the only question that comes to his mind, and he looks her in the eye as he asks it.

"How did I know you would come?" says Dr. Cykes in a low voice. "Simple. Over the past few weeks, I've been reading your emotions with the Mood Matrix program."

Simon gasps. He remembers now - he remembers Dr. Cykes working on a new bit of software that could read the emotions of others from the sound of their voice. All derived from experiments conducted on Athena, no doubt.

"Every time I mentioned my research on Athena," continues Dr. Cykes, stepping forward, "you registered sadness and anger, even though you were outwardly enthusiastic. Paired with your obvious attachment to my daughter, I thought you might try something. I grew suspicious, and it seems my suspicions were correct."

"But...how can you be so cold about all of this?" asks Simon, incredulous. He cannot believe that Dr. Cykes would go so far to "protect" her daughter, especially not when this "protection" means more torturous experiments. "No research is worth such suffering. Surely you understand how much this hurts Athena...your own daughter!"

Dr. Cykes's face is terrifying to behold. "Suffering or not, my research is everything. And as it stands, Athena is my most valuable subject. You understand that, don't you, darling?" For the first time, she addresses her daughter, and Athena seems taken aback. Her hands clutch at Simon's jacket, and she tries to hide her face behind it.

Metis holds out her free hand in what looks like a gesture of kindness. "Come now, Athena. Your mother knows best. You don't want to leave with Simon."

Athena looks up at Simon, and he shakes his head fervently at her. She still seems scared, and he is not going to let her be forced into going with her mother against her will. "Only if you promise to stop these experiments, Dr. Cykes. Only then."

Metis blinks, and for a second Simon thinks that she is seriously considering his offer. Then her hand shifts, and she is turning a golden knob on the sparking electronic device. Immediately Athena drops to the ground, grabbing her headphones and screaming. Simon crouches down to try to lift her back up, to do anything to quell the pain. There is nothing for it - Athena is curled up into a shivering ball, and she screams and screams as Metis turns the knob ever to the right. Simon looks up at his mentor, a wild rage building in his heart.

"Stop it!" he shouts. "What are you doing to her?" He reaches for the headphones, desperate to take them off, but Dr. Cykes's roar makes him freeze.

"Don't touch them!" Her eyes flash dangerously. "If you do, I will turn the knob to its maximum level."

Simon's hands drop uselessly to his sides, and he straightens up into a standing position again. He is still holding the katana, but he does not know what he can do with it. Seeing Athena writhing and shrieking in pain on the ground has sapped his resolve, but his anger remains.

"I don't think I need to explain what this remote does," says Metis. "If I set it to maximum, it will overload her eardrums with discord. Neither of us wants that, Simon." She pierces him with her stare. "Now, drop my katana and bring her over to me."

The young man's shoulders droop. What can he do? He hopes desperately that someone, anyone will come by, but he figures that Dr. Cykes has arranged things so that this will not happen. Of course she has. He is Athena's last hope, and he must think of something, anything, in this most desperate of moments.

Metis turns the knob to the left, and Athena's shrieks begin to die down. She is left shivering on the ground, obviously traumatized by the discord that had been flowing through her ears for the past few seconds. Her mother stomps her foot loudly.

"I said drop the sword and bring her to me."

It is then that Simon gets an idea.

He grabs one of Athena's hands and helps her stagger to her feet. She is shaken by the ordeal, but at least she can still stand. Simon pats her on the head again, and her watery eyes meet his.

"Athena, you need to go to your mother."

The little girl's eyes widen in horror. "N-no! I'm _not_-"

Simon cuts her off. "Trust me. It's for the best. We don't need to fight over this." He lets the sword clatter to the ground, then he gives her a tiny pat on the back to urge her forward. She looks over her shoulder at him, and his heart sinks as he realizes what she's thinking: he's betraying me, he's giving me over to the one he swore to save me from.

_Just go to her, Athena. You'll see._

Athena walks slowly toward her mother, fresh tears falling down her face. She has cried so much today - how does she have any tears left? Dr. Cykes keeps her eyes trained on Simon as her daughter crosses the laboratory to stand at her side.

"That wasn't so hard now, was it, my dearest?" she asks Athena, but her daughter refuses to look at her. "Now give Mommy a smile." She bends down a bit in an attempt to encourage Athena, and in that moment she takes her eyes off of Simon.

This split second is all that he needs. In the moment that Dr. Cykes averts her gaze to tend to her daughter, Simon grabs the sword off the ground and charges at her, the blade aimed straight at her torso.


	4. Chapter 4

The katana slashes the air and catches Dr. Cykes's lab coat, tearing a jagged hole through the side as she turns to avoid the attack at the last second. Athena screams and backs away as quickly as she can, tripping over herself in an attempt to reach safety.

Simon feels a stab of utmost shame - she is scared of _him_ now, no doubt, despite his intention to save her. But there is nothing else he can do. If he leaves now, Athena will forever be at the mercy of her mother, and he cannot have that. Dr. Cykes will make sure he never steps foot in the space center again. This is his last chance to rescue Athena - his very last opportunity to take her away from this nightmare. He has to make it count, no matter how much it hurts.

Dr. Cykes's hair has become slightly disheveled, and strands of it swing in her face as she glares murderously at Simon. Her student is now several feet away from her, breathing hard in an effort to keep his pounding heart from beating itself out of his chest.

"Oh, so it's come to this, has it? You've really done it now, Simon. I-I can't believe -" She rips open her lab coat to show the tear he has made. "You would try to kill your own mentor!"

"I'll stop if you stop," says Simon tersely, and he moves into an attacking stance once again, his eyes glued to the remote in her hand.

A line is about to be crossed, and both Simon and Dr. Cykes feel it. There is no going back now - there is only the wary dance along that line before blood is shed. The only question now is who will strike first.

"I will not abandon my research," says his mentor. "I'm sorry, but that is where I stand." She starts to walk back over to her daughter again, though this time she does not make the mistake of looking away from him. "And you had best _drop_ that damn sword and leave now, if you know what's best for you. Between what you've done to us and my work..." At this she gestures to the heap that once was Ponco, still sparking a short distance away from them. "So help me, Simon, I will end your career if you take another step toward me."

Simon can almost see the line in the middle of the robotics laboratory, the invisible line that will be chaos to cross. And at that moment, looking into Dr. Cykes's wild eyes, he realizes that he doesn't care what happens to his career, to his reputation, or to himself.

"To hell with your threats."

She barely has time to open her mouth in surprise before he charges again. He rams into her, hoping that the force of his body will make her drop the remote, but her grip on it only seems to tighten. She holds the remote to her chest as she falls to the ground, and Simon is quick to pin her there, sword aloft. Athena, obviously terrified, cries shrilly before scuttling to safety under the nearby workbench.

Dr. Cykes has hit the ground hard, but she is not incapacitated. Both mentor and student are breathing heavily now, glaring at each other with fire in their eyes. Simon takes the chance to lower the katana and flick it at the remote in her hand. "Drop that and I will let you stand up."

Dr. Cykes does not say anything. Before he can issue another command, her hand is at the knob and she is turning it slowly to the right once more. Athena's shrieks begin anew - it is so cruel to hear them again - and Simon suddenly understands the delicately horrible balance that his mentor has just struck. If he moves toward Athena, Dr. Cykes will only increase the discord in her headphones. If he drops the sword and leaves, Athena will be lost, doomed to suffer these experiments for the rest of her life.

Only one awful option remains for him.

"You would make me a murderer to save your own daughter?" wails Simon, and tears of rage flow down his cheeks as he tries to steady the katana in shaking hands.

"I'm not making you do anything," says Metis, and even sprawled on the ground she seems to have the upper hand. "Whatever happens is up to you, and you only. I am only doing what I must to secure my research."

_God, has it really come to this?_ "I'm serious," says Simon as calmly as he can. "This is your last chance, Dr. Cykes." He is hovering over her, ready to move if he must, steeling heart, mind, and body against her.

But her response is unexpected. She smiles back up at him, and he is struck with shock and relief. Could she finally be giving in? Just for an instant, he relaxes his stance.

Then his mentor cranks the knob on the remote all the way to the right. Athena, subjected to the torment of max discord, gives a bloodcurdling shriek as pain radiates through her head.

Simon cries out, and it sounds like rage and desperation mingled together. Athena continues to scream in excruciating pain, blood starting to trickle out of her ears. Dr. Cykes, meanwhile, shows no sign of dialing back. She even cackles a little to herself, and it is a strange, grating sound.

The awful clash of laughter and screams, paired with the sight of Athena suffering, is too much for Simon to take. In one swift movement, he does it. He plunges the katana down with as much force as he can muster, and he feels it break through skin and bone until it finally hits the floor.

Simon risks one frantic glance at his victim after the initial rush of adrenaline. Dr. Cykes is staring at the blade protruding from her chest, her face a mask of pain and shock. She tries to grasp at the sword with her free hand, but her jerky movements are quickly becoming weaker and weaker, and Simon sees her drop the remote to Athena's headphones. His vision becomes narrow, as if he is seeing everything through a dark tunnel, and he loosens his grip on the sword handle just slightly, looking over at Athena.

Now that the discord has stopped, the girl has clambered up into a sitting position, but she is clutching her knees to her chest and staring at Simon with a look of utmost terror. Dry blood cakes her ears, and she is breathing raggedly to herself, clearly unable to articulate words at the moment. She looks so frightened, and he can't begin to imagine what she must think of all of this...what she must think of _him_.

He wants to tell her that it's alright now, that he's finally rescued her...but in truth, nothing feels right, and his energy is slowly being sapped away. He had thought he wouldn't care about the consequences, he had thought he could live with this, but now that he can actually _feel_ his future and everything else he cares about fading into nothingness, he is not sure he can bear it. He had given everything up with that last action, that last desperate attempt to save Athena.

_Her mother would have killed her otherwise,_ he tries to tell himself. _I had no other choice._ But he is not entirely sure that is the truth.

And then the unthinkable happens - the doors to the robotics lab slide open, and there stands Aura framed by the light from the hallway. Simon wonders sluggishly why she's there - wasn't it her day off? She must have come back for something on a whim, with no clue that she would be greeted with such a horrid sight upon her arrival. Her jaw drops as she takes in the scene: her brother holding a sword plunged into the chest of her co-worker, her beloved Metis, and Athena huddled on the ground nearby. Simon freezes. He has no idea what to do or say. He sees Aura's lips move, but no words come out at first. She seems just as shocked as he feels.

And then his sister is suddenly running at him, all unbridled fury and wildness, and she aims a punch at his head, and he lets it connect because he knows it is what he deserves.

"Bastard!" she shrieks. He feels his nose break on impact, and his hands slip off the sword as Aura's blow knocks him off balance. "Bastard! Bastard! What did you _do_?" Aura's screams sound like the last cries of a dying animal. He staggers away from the body, but the katana is still sticking upright out of Metis like a grotesque extra limb, and she is coughing feebly.

Aura drops to the ground and shakes Metis in crazy desperation. She must know there is no point, what with how much her co-worker has already bled out and how pale she looks now. She is fading fast, but Simon can see through the haze of pain and emotional turmoil that Dr. Cykes is moving her lips, and Aura is nodding encouragingly, trying to keep her talking.

But it is no use, and they both know it. When Metis's body finally goes limp, Aura looks up at her brother with an expression he has never seen before. Her face is twisted with a furious mix of emotions that chills him right to the bone. She doesn't bother to ask why he did it. She doesn't bother to say anything else to him. She simply pulls the stun gun she uses on her robots from her utility belt and aims it at his chest.

He does not try to move out of the way or defend himself. This is less than he deserves, much less.

She pulls the trigger, and he thinks he hears Athena cry out before everything swirls into darkness.


	5. Chapter 5

For Simon, the next few weeks can be measured in snippets of dialogue from news stories and conversations with police and others related to the incident. He cannot make heads or tails of the events, and as a result, all of the words he hears seem to fly together until they become one monotonous cacophony of sound, tears, and agony.

"Simon Blackquill, promising young district prosecutor, is suspected of murder in the first degree -"

"-always knew he was a strange one, that polite demeanor didn't fool me-"

"Dr. Metis Cykes, a psychologist and robotics expert at the Cosmos Space Center, was a bright and warm woman who wouldn't harm a soul -"

"-leaves behind a young daughter, Athena, who is now orphaned by this terrible incident."

'How could you do such a thing? Murder your own mentor? It's beyond reason..."

"-seems like our legal system will never be the same again, not when those who are supposed to be upholders of the law commit such horrible-"

It goes on and on. Through the whirlwind of the arrest, his transport to the detention center, and the scheduling of his court date, it seems like he does not have a free moment. Not that he deserves one, really. He has been given a cold cell to live in until his trial, and he cannot help but feel that even that is too luxurious for him.

He is visited by policemen, reporters, and even fellow employees from the Prosecutor's Office. No one has any kind words from him - not that he should expect any. Most are shocked or disgusted by his crime, and spend as little time with him as possible. One of the higher-ranking prosecutors - Miles Edgeworth, Simon knows - is particularly upset by the murder, and rails against Simon for hours about how this will bring unimaginable ignominy upon their profession. And judging by recent news reports, he is not wrong.

Although he receives many visitors, a few notable faces are absent. Aura refuses to see him, and he doubts she will ever change her mind about that. He tries in vain to contact her, to try to explain his side of the story, but she will not have it. The rest of his family is equally unresponsive, having bought into the depiction of him broadcast on the news. Again, he finds with a stab to the heart that he cannot blame them for that decision.

Only Athena knows the whole truth. When she finally visits him at the detention center, she is timid and scared-looking, clutching her bag tightly to her side as if it will grant her strength. She sits down in front of him in the center's visiting room, tears threatening to spill as she stares at him through the glass.

For a while, they sit in deafening silence. Then Athena's blue eyes meet his gray ones, and she finally speaks.

"Y-you killed..." She gulps. "You killed Mom to save me."

The words are hollow - she is neither happy nor sad as she speaks them. She just sounds defeated, and Simon feels utterly responsible for the broken little girl. But nothing he can say will soften the pain she is suffering. In fact, he doubts she will ever be totally free of it, and that thought alone cuts him to the core.

However, there is no rewinding time, and he does not completely regret his actions - not when there had been the chance that Dr. Cykes could have killed her daughter had she been allowed to continue using that awful device. Just before Simon had stabbed her through the chest, that had been a distinct possibility - he was sure of it. And then there would have been two deaths on his hands.

Still, he cannot imagine how much this incident has traumatized her. He turns his head to the side before responding to her words. It feels...wrong, somehow, to look her directly in the eyes as he speaks. "I understand if you never want to talk to me again, Athena. I made a horrible mistake by thinking I could rectify the situation by my own hand. I should have gone through other channels - should have gone to the police, or the space center director, or..."

"I...I understand," Athena cuts in. "I just wanted to let you know that...I'm going to be there at the trial. I - I'm going to testify for you."

Simon is astonished - Athena offering to help him is the last thing he expects, especially when it would be more natural for her to be, well...scared to death of him. Disgusted by him.

"A-are you sure?" he asks her quietly. "You don't...hate me?" He winces as his broken nose gives a twinge of pain - it tends to do that when he is stressed.

"I don't know," she says, and the honesty in her voice is nearly as terrible as the emptiness he had heard earlier. "But...they need to know the whole truth. You might have done bad things, but Mom did bad things too." She sniffs. "Ms. Aura won't tell them what actually happened, so I'm the only one who can."

The girl is stronger than he had given her credit for. Quiet, shy, and broken by the incident, yet resolute and determined to put herself back together. He can hear it in her voice and see it in her eyes. _I hope you grow strong, Athena. For my sake._

Simon nods at her. "...Very well. Do what you think is best, Athena. But know that whatever happens to me is no fault of your own."

"O-okay, Simon. I'll be there." Athena's lip trembles,and it looks for a second like she wants to say something else to him. But she ends their meeting abruptly, getting up and turning away for the visiting room's exit after saying her piece, her short ponytail swaying behind her as she does so.

He watches the door close after her with a heavy heart.

**

True to her word, Athena comes to testify at his trial a few days later. She is the only witness for the defense, and when she speaks, she does it bravely and with an unwavering conviction. She tells the judge and spectators how her mother experimented on her - often cruelly - and how Simon had been desperate to rescue her, so desperate that murder had been the only option when her mother had essentially used her life as leverage.

To Simon's great surprise, the judge accepts her story. He decides to forego the death penalty, but Simon will still receive life in prison. This probably has something to do with the prosecution looking none too happy when they have a chance to scrutinize photos of the body taken after the incident - how awful the whole scene was! How violent and vicious of a man one would have to be to do such a thing!

Simon, however, feels an emptiness in his chest when he is forced to look at the photos of the crime scene. There lies his mentor, bleeding and broken next to the sword that took her life, and yet he cannot grieve. What he had done was unforgivable, and yet what she had done had been nearly as unforgivable. One of them would have turned into a murderer that day, no matter what - better that it was him, and better that Athena's life had been spared.

At least that's what he tells himself.

The crushing truth remains, however - no matter his intentions, no matter how terrible the situation had been beforehand, Simon Blackquill will always be the man who killed her mother. And she seems to have internalized that fact, even as she pleads for the judge and jury to consider the scene from his perspective.

Right before Athena steps down from the witness stand, she meets Simon's gaze. He wants to smile at her, to offer some kind of thanks or even just acknowledgement for what she has done, but her face is expressionless. There is no anger there, but neither is there warmth to comfort him at this dark hour. As quickly as she looks at him, she turns her head away, and then goes to find a seat in the gallery out of his line of sight.

It is the last time he will ever see her.

And as the trial draws to a close, the only thing he can do is lower his gaze and accept the verdict he truly deserves. But as his head droops, he can't help but think that, in the end, he had done the right thing - the only thing he could.

There is one stinging realization, though - one last specter that will haunt him to the grave.

_She spoke on my behalf, but she will never forgive me. Not ever._

Simon's eyes flit through the spectators in the gallery to seek out the girl whose absolution he craves, but soon the gavel bangs, and the only thing he can hear is the judge's voice ringing throughout the courtroom in righteous certainty.

"Guilty."


End file.
